Eye on Iran: U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Board Rebukes Defiant Iran

For continuing coverage follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group. Top Stories Reuters: "The U.N. nuclear watchdog board of governors censured Iran on Friday over mounting suspicions it may be seeking to develop atomic bombs, after the six big powers overcame divisions on how to best deal with a defiant Tehran. But the resolution, which won overwhelming support at the 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), omitted any concrete punitive steps, reflecting Russian and Chinese opposition to cornering Iran. It was adopted by 32 votes for and two against - Cuba and Ecuador. Indonesia abstained. Iran showed no sign of backing down in the protracted dispute over its atomic activities, threatening to take legal action against the Vienna-based U.N. agency for issuing a hard-hitting report about Tehran's nuclear program." http://t.uani.com/siqJfJ WashPost: "World powers meeting at the United Nations' nuclear agency have agreed on a draft resolution sharply criticizing Iran for its nuclear activities while deferring any discussion of new U.N. sanctions until the spring, two Western diplomats familiar with the document said Thursday.The resolution, which is expected to gain formal approval by the nuclear watchdog's 35-nation governing board Friday, is a partial victory for Western powers seeking a unified message of rebuke to Iran over its nuclear policies. But the omission of any specific recommendations for penalties was a concession to Russia and China, which have steadfastly opposed new sanctions against Iran, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in describing diplomatic deliberations. Just 48 hours earlier, some Western governments had been skeptical that the two countries could be persuaded to support any resolution strongly critical of Iran. The draft resolution expresses 'deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues' in Iran's nuclear program, particularly allegations that Iran has sought sensitive technology used in making nuclear warheads, said a senior U.S. official familiar with the document now before board members of the International Atomic Energy Agency." http://t.uani.com/sbEWMY AFP: "The number of Revolutionary Guards killed in a munitions blast at a base outside Tehran last Saturday rose to at least 36, according to Iranian media tolls collated by AFP on Thursday. The figure -- based on news reports giving the names of each of the men buried -- was more than double the toll of 17 dead given by a Revolutionary Guards spokesman on the day of the explosion. The spokesman said at the time that 23 Revolutionary Guards were wounded, some of them critically. The huge blast at the base in Bid Ganeh, near Tehran, notably killed General Hassan Moqaddam, a key figure in the Revolutionary Guards' ballistic missile programme. Iranian military officials said repeatedly the explosion was an accident, implicitly rejecting speculation in Israeli and Western media that it might have been a covert military operation by Israel or the United States." http://t.uani.com/tMAL9E Nuclear Program & Sanctions The Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Thursday offered an amendment to the pending defense authorization bill that would target the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) as a reprisal for that country's persistent nuclear program. 'Iran remains undeterred, and the United States is left with fewer options for dealing with the Iranian nuclear program as time elapses,' said McConnell in presenting the amendment from the floor. 'This amendment ... would add to the current sanctions against Iran by targeting the CBI.' 'This, in my judgment, is one of the few remaining actions short of an embargo of Iranian shipping and military intervention to slow or end the Iranian nuclear program,' continued McConnell. Last week Kirk, who penned the amendment, called attention to warnings emanating from the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the Islamic Republic of Iran could be on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon." http://t.uani.com/ufrd4a AP: "North Korea is denying allegations that it has helped Iran to develop nuclear weapons. North Korea's official media said Friday that unspecified 'dishonest forces' have spread rumors of a nuclear link between the two countries. Some South Korean and Western media reported this month that Tehran received help from Pyongyang in nuclear arms development. Seoul's Yonhap News Agency said earlier this week that North Korea has sent hundreds of nuclear experts to Iran. It cited an unnamed diplomatic source. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said such allegations amount to 'nonsense.'" http://t.uani.com/uiTY1c Radio Farda: "Any effort to impose effective sanctions on Iran in the wake of the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will require Turkey's cooperation. But analysts say given Ankara's expanding trade ties with Tehran, such cooperation is highly unlikely. The IAEA's latest report on Iran says there is a credible risk that the country could develop nuclear weapons, despite persistent denials from the authorities in Tehran, and pressure is growing for a new wave of tough economic sanctions." http://t.uani.com/vLU4uq Opinion & Analysis Eli Lake in The Daily Beast: "For much of the last decade, as Iran methodically built its nuclear program, Israel has been assembling a multibillion-dollar array of high-tech weapons that would allow it to jam, blind, and deafen Tehran's defenses in the case of a pre-emptive aerial strike. A U.S. intelligence assessment this summer, described to The Daily Beast by current and former U.S. intelligence officials, concluded that any Israeli attack on hardened nuclear sites in Iran would go far beyond airstrikes from F-15 and F-16 fighter planes and likely include electronic warfare against Iran's electric grid, Internet, cellphone network, and emergency frequencies for firemen and police officers. For example, Israel has developed a weapon capable of mimicking a maintenance cellphone signal that commands a cell network to 'sleep,' effectively stopping transmissions, officials confirmed. The Israelis also have jammers capable of creating interference within Iran's emergency frequencies for first responders. In a 2007 attack on a suspected nuclear site at al-Kibar, the Syrian military got a taste of this warfare when Israeli planes 'spoofed' the country's air-defense radars, at first making it appear that no jets were in the sky and then in an instant making the radar believe the sky was filled with hundreds of planes. Israel also likely would exploit a vulnerability that U.S. officials detected two years ago in Iran's big-city electric grids, which are not 'air-gapped'-meaning they are connected to the Internet and therefore vulnerable to a Stuxnet-style cyberattack-officials say. A highly secretive research lab attached to the U.S. joint staff and combatant commands, known as the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC), discovered the weakness in Iran's electrical grid in 2009, according to one retired senior military intelligence officer. This source also said the Israelis have the capability to bring a denial-of-service attack to nodes of Iran's command and control system that rely on the Internet." http://t.uani.com/rCPQxu Jamie Fly in U.S. News & World Report: "Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran has made significant progress toward a nuclear weapons capability. International reaction to the report has been mixed. Several European countries have expressed concern and President Obama on Monday promised a new effort to isolate Iran. Despite the report's damning conclusions, Russia and China, long a focus of President Obama's efforts to obtain more stringent sanctions against Iran, appear reluctant to ramp up pressure on Tehran. This muted reaction to reports that Iran has essentially done much of the work necessary to weaponize a nuclear device is just the latest evidence of the failed Iran policy of successive U.S. administrations. We are in a vicious cycle with Iran. The regime makes provocative advances in its nuclear program and the international community responds with the diplomatic equivalent of a collective shrug-sometimes expressing dismay, sometimes pursuing new sanctions. The message to the mullahs is clear-there are no serious penalties as they get closer and closer to their nuclear goal. At this point, the only action that might dissuade Iran from taking the final step is the viable threat of military action. The IAEA report notes that Iran likely halted its program briefly in 2003 'owing to growing concerns about the international security situation in Iraq and neighboring countries at that time.' The problem now is that under the Obama administration, the military option has essentially been removed from the table. Press reports in recent weeks cite Obama administration efforts to dissuade Israel from conducting an attack and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta spoke of the 'unintended consequences' of military action and the potential 'serious impact' on the Middle East and U.S. forces in the region. A military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would be a significant undertaking and the costs should not be underestimated. But these costs must be weighed against the implications of a nuclear Iran to U.S. security and interests and to our allies. A nuclear Iran would lead to a cascade of proliferation in the Middle East as Iran's neighbors raced to get the bomb. Iran's terrorist proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, would likely be emboldened. Iran's efforts to influence developments in Iraq and Afghanistan would be strengthened. Some Americans, fatigued by 10 years of the war on terror and continued economic problems at home, may be tempted to outsource this problem to Israel. But Israel lacks the military capabilities to carry out the sort of attack that would significantly set the program back. America cannot shirk its responsibility when it comes to Iran. To so would be irresponsible and dangerous. Military action should be the last resort, but increasingly appears to be the only option that will prevent a nuclear Iran." http://t.uani.com/rJTfLT Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email Press@UnitedAgainstNuclearIran.com United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.